Latest news with #Ex-IAF
Mint
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
Delhi fuel ban: We are still flying over 40-year-old aircraft, why restrictions on personal vehicles, asks ex-IAF pilot
A former Indian Air Force pilot has weighed in on the contentious Delhi government's order to ban the refuelling of diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years -- an order now under review, as the Rekha Gupta-led BJP government has requested the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to place the enforcement on hold. Ex-IAF pilot Sanjeev Kapoor raised concerns over the selective crackdown on personal vehicles while older modes of transport continue to operate unchecked. "We are still flying aircraft that are over 40 years old and many of our trains, buses, boats, ferries, and commercial planes in daily use are more than three decades old," he wrote. 'So why are restrictions being imposed only on personal vehicles?' Kapoor also voiced concerns about the possible unintended effects of the ban. 'With fuel no longer available at gas stations, this will only create a parallel ecosystem, which is neither sustainable nor desirable. That's my take,' he added. Amid public outrage, the Delhi government has 'put on hold' its controversial order barring fuel for 'end of life' vehicles -- referring to petrol cars older than 15 years and diesel vehicles over 10 years old. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa told reporters that implementing such a fuel ban is challenging due to 'technological challenges and complex systems.' He added that authorities are working on a plan to seize poorly-maintained vehicles, rather than penalise owners who properly maintain their cars and motorcycles. "We are trying to ensure that the vehicles are not banned according to their age but rather on the basis of the pollution caused by them," Sirsa said."
New Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Operation Sindoor: Has India called Pakistan's Nuclear Bluff?
India has more than amply demonstrated that while it may have arrived at a hurried, tenuous cease-fire with Pakistan last week, the horror and injustice of Pahalgam terror attack has been avenged. And for all the slander and disinformation spewed by Pakistan's sympathisers in the western media, Operation Sindhoor, a wholly different kind of war, fought with drones and missiles rather than on the ground - has destroyed the myth peddled by Pakistan of parity. Neither side – crossed the border. But amid all the chest-thumping and conflicting versions of who bested whom, the main question centres on what are India's takeaways from this conflict. Talking to Senior Journalist Neena Gopal on the topic are a battery of experts, Air Marshal Matheswaran, Indian Air Force veteran; Air Commodore Ashminder Singh Bahal, Ex-IAF officer, author; Srinath Raghavan, strategic affairs expert, historian; Bharat Gopalaswamy, formerly Director of the South Asia program at Atlantic Council.
